Ghost of Midnight

… about neighbors, community and Front Porch Forum

Treasured bonsai tree stolen from fair… happy ending

Dozens of versions of this posting appeared on FPFs across Vermont recently…

On the evening of Sept. 3 in the Bonsai exhibition at Champlain Valley Expo, someone took a cherished juniper bonsai belonging to a member of the Green Mountain Bonsai Society. The tree that was stolen is a miniature juniper. It must live outdoors, except during winter, to be healthy, and requires -40 degree cold-dormancy in the winter to stay alive – a bonsai like this is NOT a house plant. The club is asking PLEASE — whoever took this tree — find a way to return it to the owner [who is heartbroken]. If you have any knowledge about this tree, please contact us.

Followed by a gratifying…

This could only happen in Vermont. The Bonsai stolen from the Fair has been returned. Apparently all the publicity about how difficult it would be to care for the tree paid off. It was found on an office desk at the Flynn, and it looked like the wiring had been loosened, possibly as attempted removal from the pot had been attempted, without knowledge of how to actually do it. A little the worse for wear, it has been returned to its owner. Would that solving bigger crimes would be so easy. To the extent that Front Porch Forum postings by all of those who spread the word contributed to the return, many thanks from the owner and the members of the Green Mountain Bonsai Society.